A Woman's Place
by JazMitch
Summary: "Who else could emanate light, even as she was bathed in the blood of a battle? Who else could incite fire in the soul of a man who once thought his soul lost forever? Who else could wear bruises like the armor of the Goddess of War?" Established BABE! Sequel to Hell Hath No Fury, but can be read as a standalone. BAMF Stephanie!


Disclaimer: Not even kind of mine, not from a lack of willing it to be so XD

A/N: **WOW**! Okay, let me first say, I was _**so**_ floored by the reaction to _**Hell Hath No Fury**_! I was grinning like a loon the whole day, so a humungous _**THANK YOU**_ to everyone who reviewed and favorited it! I'm so sorry I can't respond to you all separately, but y'all really made my day so special!

That being said, this is a sequel of sorts, to that one shot, because I couldn't bear not to, since you guys were so lovely to respond so overwhelmingly!

HHNF does not need to be read in order to understand this story, but it does give some background to this AU Stephanie, as well as some background to the humor.

Okay! That said, I just hope y'all enjoy!

###

 _ **A Woman's Place**_

 _ **Stephanie POV**_

My head thumped restlessly, pulses of pain that flared through me and made me feel sick to my stomach. Letting out an involuntary groan of discomfort, I searched the recesses of my mind, trying to remember how I'd landed up in this situation.

 _Did I get hammered last night?_

As soon as the notion came, I dismissed it. Not that I didn't party; on the contrary, as my friend Lula often told me, I partied my white Burg ass harder than most women on the good side of their twenties. So, no…whatever happened here, it wasn't remotely as fun. I had no sooner ruled out that possibility, before my memory came back to me like a flash.

 _Lyle_ _ **freaking**_ _McDermot._

Muttering inaudibly under my breath, I yanked on the shackles adorning my wrists, rattling them in irritation. Predictably, it achieved nothing except to make a noise, but it made me feel just a smidge better. I mean, who even put shackles on people anymore, without there being something kinky involved?

Wincing at the bruises on my body that were becoming known, I had to wonder.

 _How the hell did I even get here?_

###

"Jesus Christ, Cupcake, you've become a freaking badass!"

I whirled around at the familiar voice, laughing loudly. "Joe Morelli, as I live and breathe," I teased with a grin, going to hug him and giggling slightly when he lifted me off the ground.

Pulling back, he tucked a stray curl behind my ear. "What's the word, Cupcake? Big Dog tells me you've become a full-time Rangewoman now?"

"Yup," I stated proudly, lifting my chin slightly and puffing my chest out, showing the Rangeman logo on my shirt. "Passed the tests on my own merit and everything."

"Eh," Morelli made an impressed noise, grinning proudly at me, "Ranger must have loved that."

Contrary to popular belief, Joe and I had had an amicable break-up. We were friends now, and while neither of us was likely to braid each other's hair and exchange dating stories, we also didn't begrudge each other our new lives, and effectively, our new partners. I had already met Jessica, Joe's fiancé, before he proposed to her, and although Joe wasn't friends with Ranger or the Merry Men, they all shared professional respect.

I snorted. "He was impressed," I shrugged, "but he still doesn't understand why I needed to do it. He is happy that I got trained though."

"I can imagine," Morelli nodded seriously. "Looks like it definitely paid off." He gestured behind him, where my skip was still docile in his cuffs.

Grinning, I winked at him. "They know better than to mess with me, these days. Speaking of," I glanced distractedly at my watch, "I should jet. I got one more skip before I get to go home."

Hugging Morelli goodbye, I jumped in my Jeep, already trying to plot my way to my last skip's house. I patted the dash absently; the big vehicle was actually lasting me a long time, which I could appreciate given my somewhat disastrous relationship with (apparently) all things motorized.

I had just decided on my route when my cell rang, and I pressed the button on the hands free kit, after turning the volume on the radio down. "Yo."

"Babe."

"Ranger!" I smiled broadly. Despite being married for over six months now, it still filled me with overwhelming love and happiness whenever I heard Carlos' voice. It had taken some getting used to, using his real name, and for the sake of professionalism, I only called him that when we were at home, but even thinking it gave me a thrill. "What's up?"

"Apparently, you and Morelli."

I snickered at the jealousy in his tone, warmth creeping up my spine. "Morelli and I are just friends, you know that," I told him soothingly. I waited a beat before adding mischievously, "And besides, who wants Morelli when you can have Batman?"

"Babe."

I had expected the response, but by now, I knew him so well that I could hear the smirk in his voice, and the little snigger he was biting back.

"You're my husband, Ranger," I giggled, "and I love you, which is probably why I think this is cute instead of being insulted by it. I'm going to go catch my last skip, then I'll come home and you can Caveman all you want, okay?"

"I love you too, querida," he told me simply, melting my heart and replacing my amusement with tenderness. "Be safe."

"Always, Batman," I murmured, smiling softly. "Don't get shot."

He did chuckle then, a small huff of laughter that was half exasperated and half fond. "Don't go crazy."

I hung up with a little giggle, already looking forward to the end of the day. Just one more skip…

I glanced at the file sitting innocuously on my front seat, skimming over the picture and on to the name.

 _Lyle Brendan McDermot._

###

I hadn't been too worried, even though he wasn't a regular of mine; the assault charge was his first, and I trusted in the training I had received. I was sure he wouldn't get the drop on me, and he didn't.

His Goddamn _mother_ did.

He had put up a fight, and I knew for a fact that I had him beat, as evidenced by my bruised up knuckles. I hadn't, however, counted on the surprisingly agile old woman coming up behind me and slamming something rock hard into the back of my skull. As if prompted by my thinking about it, my head throbbed, reminding me of the bruise my head now housed. I grimaced when I touched it; my hair was matted with blood, and the stickiness on the pads of my fingers suggested that it had just recently stopped bleeding.

Now that I had figured out how I got to this situation, I had to ponder; _why_ had he kidnapped me? Why on earth would he do something that would only exacerbate his current legal status, when he could've just ran? Surely he wasn't stupid enough to think he could use me as leverage to get Rangeman to back off?

Not that Ranger wouldn't agree to it to keep me safe…just that he probably had no less than 394 ways in which he could capture the guy, get me back unharmed _and_ unmask a serial killer while he waited for the cops to facilitate McDermot's transfer.

But. It was pointless thinking about that now.

Now, I needed to find a way to get out of these _damn_ shackles.

It didn't take me very long, in spite of my monster headache, to inventory my person. McDermot was definitely a mindless brute kind of guy; he had bruised me up and shackled me, but only relieved me of my guns. My knife was still safely strapped to my upper arm and my pick, still neatly tucked into my jacket sleeve, where it always was.

 _Moron._

I expertly maneuvered the pick into my hand, but before I could use it, I heard footsteps approaching. Slipping it between my palm and sleeve, I quickly slammed down my black face.

"…in here. Help me with this, and we can consider your debt to me fully repaid."

"It better not be something illegal, man. I told you, I'm done with that shit."

"Would you rather…oh, shit!"

I grinned darkly at McDermot as he realized I was awake. "What's up, Buttercup?" I chirped cheekily.

I was met with profuse cussing, but it didn't come from McDermot. It came, instead, from his companion, and when I caught sight of who he was, I almost snorted.

"You didn't tell me you were going after Manoso!" he snapped at McDermot, a mixture of panic and annoyance in his eyes.

Understandable reaction, given that I had kicked his ass not so long ago, when he tried to corner Ranger and Les and a bystander at a bank.

I aimed a smirk at him. "Hey, Gordon."

"Stephanie," he nodded courteously at me. "How's the bounty hunting going?"

"Meh." I gave a casual shrug and rattled the shackles pointedly. "Honestly? Right now, it could be going better."

Gordon grimaced before scowling at McDermot. "Let her out. _Now_."

"No freaking way!" The idiot protested angrily. "I didn't think _you_ were also scared of this _big bad Ranger_ guy I've been hearing about."

Gordon snorted mirthlessly. "He ain't the Manoso you should be scared of. You'll have your 20 grand by the weekend, Lyle." He turned to me. "I trust you'll handle this, Stephanie?"

I favored him with a grin, having already begun picking my way out of the chains while they were arguing.

"You know it. Say hi to Hannah and the kids for me, and stay out of trouble, alright?"

He gave me a small salute, his lips quirking ever so slightly in reluctant amusement. "You got it, Bounty Goddess."

Lyle just glared after him as Gordon made tracks out of there. "Pathetic little idiot!"

"I don't know," I rolled my eyes, "I would say he's definitely the smarter of the two of you."

McDermot didn't pay me any attention, for which I was glad, as I worked on my restraints.

"What a coward!" he continued to rage, oblivious to me, "afraid of _a woman!_ A woman's _place_ is bent over whatever her man wants her!"

Okay. I was officially pissed off.

###

 _ **Ranger POV**_

"She's definitely in there, Boss man."

I glanced briefly at Junior, giving him a sharp nod before refocusing my attention on the abandoned asylum about half a mile from my location. When Babe didn't come home last night, my men were on her trackers before I could even bark out the order. I hadn't even realized how many of them waited to make sure her Jeep was in the garage before turning in or leaving for the day.

I was grateful for it, now. Even with her training, Steph wasn't infallible, and this was a harsh reminder of the fact. Since becoming a Rangewoman, she hadn't been kidnapped once, and since becoming my wife, she was barely ever bruised anymore, unless it was of my own doing.

I had forgotten how terrifying it was, whenever she was in trouble.

If anything, it was even worse now. Maybe it was because I hadn't felt it in a while, and underestimated how strong it was, but then again, maybe it was because she was now officially mine. I had shown her my heart, and she had loved me more for it. Married me. Taken my name. Bound herself to me and only me, for the rest of our lives…and now, impossibly, I had even more to lose if she got hurt.

I vowed fiercely to myself that I would get her out of there without a hair on her head being harmed.

"We go in on my count, men," I informed the grim looking ex-soldiers around me, who all seemed intent on getting their favorite Rangewoman back. "Three. Two. One."

Like the well-oiled machine we were, we burst into the building as one, aiming our (impressive) firepower at…

… _Babe_?

Stephanie was bruised and bloody, but she was standing over McDermot; his arm was pulled all the way back and locked between her arms, so that a little twist would dislocate his shoulder, and her boot was pressing down on to his neck, making him eat the linoleum.

She smiled brightly at me, where I was still frozen in momentary confusion. "Ranger!" She glanced at McDermot almost sheepishly. "I would've waited for you, but I was getting hungry and his voice was as annoying as Joyce Barnhardt at any one moment in her life." She stopped for a moment, a look of consideration on her face. "Naw, I'm just kidding. Nobody is as annoying as that little tart."

Several of my men were bent over laughing, Santos loudest of them all. Babe sent me another sexy little smirk, and even through the dirt, blood and sweat, she looked unfathomably beautiful to me.

I took a moment to marvel at the amazing angel in front of me; and _of course_ she was an angel, because who else could emanate light, even as she was bathed in the blood of a battle? Who else could incite fire in the soul of a man who once thought his soul lost forever? Who else could wear bruises like the armor of the Goddess of War?

With one more sharp kick that had McDermot rolling over and curling into a little ball, Steph let him go, but before we could move it, she leaned down. I barely caught her hissed words to him.

"This woman's place," she snarled, her voice icy and dripping with danger, which only made her sound sexier, "is kicking ass and taking names. Yours included, so don't cross me again, McDermot." She straightened up, glaring at him. "Maybe you can find out a little more about that bent-over place you were talking about when they throw you in a cozy, two-man jail cell. Asshole."

Before I could question what had made her so angry, I had an armful of beautiful Babe. "Querida," I husked, kissing her. It was hot and hungry, but unfortunately quick, given where we were. "Proud of you, Babe."

Steph beamed at me, kissing me once more and sliding down my body, somehow managing to make it look damn seductive. "Thanks, Batman," she murmured with a soft smile, before reaching into the pocket at my left knee and pulling out my keys. "We should go on home, I think the guys can handle it from here. You owe me some _Caveman_."

I growled lowly, unable to resist nipping the hollow behind her ear; it wouldn't mark her, but that would happen when we were alone, back home. I needed to stake my claim, and I would…just a little later. Babe needed to get checked out first; she might have saved herself, but the amount of blood on her vest and skin was nothing to play around about.

"Wait for me in the car, Querida?" I asked smoothly, rubbing my thumb into her hip, trying to coax her into agreeing without protest. "I want to take you to the hospital to get checked out."

Surprisingly, the argument I was bracing myself for didn't come. Instead, Steph leaned tiredly against me, nodding slightly. It was only then that I noticed the matted hair on the back of her head; Babe was always careful about concussions.

"Okay, but hurry," she asserted, kissing the edge of my jaw. "I want to go _home_."

The words never failed to make my heart burn with impossible joy.

When she was safely out of there, Santos accompanying her, I turned back to McDermot. Babe had done a number on him, and while I was proud, I was still furious as all hell.

 _Nobody messed with my woman._

###

A/N: Thanks again for reading and I hope y'all enjoyed!


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